9 reasons why the Xbox One S is better than the PS4 Pro

9 reasons why the Xbox One S is better than the PS4 Pro

SONY AND MICROSOFT have released new consoles in time for Christmas. Both are updated versions of original machines launched in 2013, and each provides varying degrees of change.

We could argue about teraflops until we’re blue in the face, but that alone won’t help us in our summing-up. In order for one side to win, we need to consider the benefits of each console.

To that end, we put forward our argument why the Xbox One S is the superior console. As ever, feel free to argue away (and call us names) in the comments. We can take it.

1. The PS4 Pro lacks 4K Blu-ray
The PS4 Pro can happily play 4K (and HDR) content, but only the Xbox has an Ultra-HD Blu-ray player built in.

Microsoft was as surprised about the omission as the rest of us, and said as much when pressed by The Guardian: “The lack of a 4K disk player, given Sony’s media background, was a surprise. Looking at what they’ve done historically, I don’t think many people would have predicted that.”

2. Backwards compatibility without the priceWe know this is an old argument but it still stands firm. The PS4 Pro can play PS2 and PS3 classics, but it’s not as simple as sticking in an old disk. The incompatibility between old and new means that the only way to run old favourites is to sign up to PlayStation Now.

The downside is the £12.99 monthly fee, which will be a fair dent in your pocket. But, like Microsoft’s offering, Sony regularly adds new titles to the library and at the time of writing there are more than 400 games. The Xbox, on the other hand, offers 250+ games through the Backward Compatibility programme that are free to owners of the originals.

Sony’s offering also relies on a consistent 5MBps internet connection, as PlayStation Now is effectively a Netflix of games. Games are streamed rather than stored and played locally on your system, whereas the Xbox solution requires the use of your original disks for verification.